Dear reader, I consider myself truly blessed to be able to play golf again!. No, not at the level I had achieved in years past, but just being able to play with old friends and acquaintances; make new friends, and, yes, even play with ol' adversaries -- again, I'm blessed, indeed.
So, I submit this blog entry on a topic that seems to reflect the political times of today. What, praytell, is my point? Read on.
I notice that golfers seem to complain about their scores, their swing, their equipment, the golf course, the condition of the course -- fairway grass too long, greens not cut uniformly, sand traps unraked, flag in wrong position, and on, and on, and on. Of all these complaints I hear, the one that irks me the most is this one:
"That ball should have gone in the hole! How could that ball stay out of the hole? I hit the putt perfectly!"
Upon hearing these words on a golf course, I tell you, my skin crawls! Really. How does one ascribe the' word 'should' to an object? The word 'should' is universally used in association with a person -- e.g. I should go home, you should eat something, my son should get married. But, to say golf ball 'should' have gone in a hole is tantamount to making the ball a thing with human characteristics! That's insane! I suspect that this kind of thinking is ripe for the current climate of government assistance in so much of today's political thought. Perhaps, legislation that will result in changing the rules of golf so that the golfer could claim the lower score -- is just on the horizon. Yikes!
Here are a few golf scenes from recent matches:
Golf still remains a favorite, though, at times I think it may
be foreced to undergo changes that might make competition unrecognizable some day. Let's hope not.
Here are images of some great golfing acquaintances -- Jeff is an accomplished player who presents me with stiff competition -- I value his fine skill and sound judgemnet. Richard has a long history of West Coast golf -- he's looking forward, I'm sure, for the upcoming US Open in SF.
One last, comment. When a golf ball does NOT go in the hole, the reasons have nothing to do with 'should' -- it has everything to do with physics, weather, stroke, power, angle. grass, size of hole, size of ball, wind, moisture, etc. "should" has no place in golf!